You Never Look At Me That Way
by TheWritingFairy
Summary: Starts before Robin returned to Nottingham from the Holy Land. Guy loves Marian, she doesn't love him problem. One shot for now, may continue it in the future. If I do, the rating may go up. Guy/Marian. If I choose to continue, no doubt it'll also include Robin?Marian.


Guy of Gisborne could have any woman in Nottingham, in England even, if he wanted to. Well, all apart from one, it seemed. But it just so happened, as tends to be the case with these things, that it was the exact one he couldn't have that he wanted more than anyone else. And so he found himself, as he had done many a time before, at Knighton hall, knocking on her front door. With one hand behind his back and small box in the other, he waited for someone to answer the door; there was a small part of him that hoped her father wasn't it.

''Marian,'' he smiled warmly as the very woman opened the door.

''Sir Guy,'' she nodded. Although she smiled back, it looked more forced, customary, rather than genuine and affectionate. He tried to ignore the pang in his stomach it caused. ''Can I help you?'' she asked, still blocking his way in.

''I was hoping I could come in,'' he told her, gesturing to the gilded box he was carrying. He wouldn't give it to her just yet, he was hoping they could manage some sort of friendly conversation first.

She blinked. ''Oh. Of course. Come in,'' she invited, stepping back into the house and allowing him through. As is polite, he quietly shut the door behind him.

''How are you?'' he enquired. ''You look well.'' He put the box down on the wooden table as he spoke before turning to face her, awaiting her reply.

''I am well, thank you. And yourself?''

''Can't complain,'' he replied, tilting his head to the side a little and back.

''Where is Sir Edward?'' he asked, trying to ignore the small wish growing inside him that the former Sherriff would not be returning any time soon. While conversation with Marian proved to be difficult a lot of the time, she was actually a bit easier to talk to when her father was absent.

"He's in London for a few days on business,'' she informed him. Guy nodded, noticing how she fiddled with her hands. It was clear that the woman was awkward around him, she even refused to look at him, but he endeavoured to not let that put him off.

"Marian I-" Guy began, but he was interrupted by an urgent knock on the door. He clenched his eyes in exasperation. Who was that? Did they not see his coach outside? Oblivious to Guy's annoyance at the untimely disturbance, Marian walked swiftly towards the door and opened it, before he could even think about asking her to ignore it.

''Have you heard the news, Lady Marian?'' a high-pitched female voice squeaked eagerly.

'Come in, Bess,' Marian insisted, smiling widely. Why did she never smile like that at him? Guy looked at the woman entering the house. She was dressed poorly, but not like a peasant; she must have been a friend of Marian's.

'Sir Guy,' Bess greeted him, shyly, not meeting his eyes. He forced a one-cornered smile upon his face, not wanting to seem rude in front of Marian. Guy's reputation was rather well known so it did not surprise him when the girl shuffled so she was positioned behind Marian.

"This news?" Marian prompted her friend, giving Guy almost a disdainful look, obviously realising Bess was frightened of him.

"Yes, My Lady," she started but Marian stopped her.

"Please, Bess, how many times must I tell you, there is no need to call me 'My Lady'. My father is no longer the Sherriff.''

"Yes, of course, sorry," she mumbled. "Anyway, the news. Oh have you really not heard?" Marian shook her head indicating, no, she had not heard the news. Nor had Guy for that matter, he didn't think. "Robin is returning to England!" Bess squealed.

"Robin Hood? From the Holy Land?" Marian asked, her face taking on a warm pink colour. Guy frowned. He had not been here all that long, or back here rather, but he'd been here long enough to know that Robin Hood had courted Marian before he'd left to fight in the Crusades and, by the look of Marian's now scarlet blush and beaming face, Marian had sorely missed him. She looked positively overjoyed by the news. Guy, on the other hand, couldn't have been more disappointed.

"Oh that's wonderful news, truly it is, Bess!'' she exclaimed, hugging her friend.

"I just thought you might like to know, My L- Marian,'' Bess replied when she'd let her go. She snuck a peak at Guy and must have noticed his thunderous expression because she started to retreat towards the door. "I must be getting back to my mother," she informed them both, opening the door.

"Must you go?" Marian asked. Wow, she really didn't like being alone with Guy.

"I'm afraid I must. I will call by again tomorrow though,'' she promised, stepping outside. Guy strode towards the door and closed it behind her, before turning back to the remaining woman, who was still grinning from ear to ear.

"I bought you something,'' he told her, indicating to the box on the table. While he had planned to build up to the gift-giving, he now just wanted to do anything to deflect her attention from her friend's news.

"More gifts Guy? Really, you shouldn't, you know?" she sighed. Guy struggled to see her point. True, he'd been bringing her presents more and more frequently, but women were supposed to like that sort of thing. He just wanted to show her how much he cared about her and this was his way of doing it.

"I want to,'' he insisted. "Please, take it?" he requested, holding the box out to her with his gloved hand.

She sighed again, taking the box from him gently.

"Well look inside,'' he laughed. Honestly! She gingerly opened the lid and peaked inside, before pulling the object out. It was a brooch, shaped like a rose, heavily decorated with diamonds. She held it up to the light and watched it glitter, a look of wonder on her face. Guy smiled; finally he'd bought her something she liked. He'd thought too soon though as she groaned at put it back in the equally decorated box.

"I can't accept it," she explained, holding it back out to him. He scowled.

"Why not?" he asked, trying desperately hard not to show he was sulking.

"It's too expensive," she said eventually. But he knew she was lying.

"Marian, I will keep on giving you gifts until you accept them," he warned her. "Please stop trying to fight me; I'm only trying to show you that I care." He placed his hands behind his back, firmly refusing to accept the box back.

She closed her eyes for a moment before putting the box back down on the table. "Fine," she gave in. "Thank you," she added quickly, not wanting to sound more ungrateful than she already had. Hallelujah!

He smiled at her, over the moon that they were finally getting somewhere.

"You know, you could do worse than becoming Lady Gisborne?" he stated tentatively, or as tentatively as could, for being gentle wasn't really one of his strong points.

"Oh Guy, not this again, please?" she begged.

"I'm just saying," he protested holding his hands up, showing he wasn't going to push it any further. Well, not much further. "You can't stay a maiden forever. There are worse options than me."

She stood staring at the floor, mulling his words over. He was right but, well, Robin was coming home…

"I can provide for you, I can care for you and I can protect you."

"I know all that," she muttered, coming out of her thoughts.

"Then why must you resist me?" he questioned. She shrugged. Guy _could _provide for her, very well in fact, and she believed his feelings for her were genuine – truth be told, she did have some sort of feelings for him – but something just wasn't quite right about the pair of them together; she was unsure what, she just knew that something about the thought of being Gisborne's wife nagged at her and it made her uncomfortable.

"Don't push me, Sir Guy, please? I've told you I'll think about it, can you just leave it there?" she pleaded.

"But you've been thinking about my proposal for weeks!" The look on her face made him stop, as she no doubt intended. "Fine," he grunted. "I'm sorry."

"That's okay," she replied, her voice softer.

"I'll be going then," he decided; it was evidently what she wanted.

"I'll see you soon, no doubt?"

"No doubt," he smiled, reaching for her hand to kiss it. "Goodbye, Marian."

"Farewell, Sir Guy." She held the door opened for him and waved as he got into his coach, before going back inside to think, for she had a lot to think about between Guy's proposal and Robin's rumoured return.

**A/N… Hello! I probably shouldn't have started this, considering I'm half way through another story, so, for that reason, I will keep this as a one shot. When I've finished 'Coming to terms with magic' and, after my A-level examinations in a couple of months, I may reconsider, carry on with this and make it into a full-length fic but, for now, I'll leave it as it is. Hope you enjoy and feel free to type something in that little box down below… I do love a good review!**


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